Avalanche wins NHL draft lottery, setting up likely Seth Jones pick

Seth Jones learned to play hockey in the Denver suburbs of Littleton and Centennial after his father with a cartoon name and great athletic ability was steered to those rinks by then-Avalanche captain Joe Sakic.

Popeye Jones, a former Nuggets player and assistant coach, wanted his sons to play hockey, and there is a very good chance Seth Jones will play for the Avalanche next season and beyond.

The Avs on Monday won their biggest contest of the season — the NHL draft lottery to get first dibs on Jones, the No. 1 draft prospect, who is considered the next Nicklas Lidstrom or Chris Pronger. The Avs, who are desperate for a do-it-all defenseman, had the second-best chance (18.8 percent) among the 14 nonplayoff teams eligible for the lottery and beat out the favored Florida Panthers (25 percent). Given their needs, the Avs definitely hit the lottery.

"Nothing set in stone, but I'm very appreciative and honored," Jones said in a television interview from Portland, Ore., where he plays for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. "This experience has been very amazing so far."

Florida will pick second, and the other teams will retain their positions. The No. 1 pick will be the highest in Avalanche history and its third top-three choice since 2009. Center Matt Duchene was drafted third in 2009, and left wing Gabe Landeskog was second in 2011.

"This gives us a chance to improve our club and add to a strong group of young players," said Rick Pracey, the Avs' director of amateur scouting, who represented the franchise at the lottery. "(Jones) is interesting, unique to our market. ... Clearly he's a name that we're discussing, and we look forward to sitting down with him and getting to know him better."

TSN's Bob McKenzie has Jones rated as the No. 1 prospect and said eight of 10 scouts he spoke to also have the 6-foot-4, 206-pound star at the top of the deep list. The NHL draft is June 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Jones, 18, helped lead the Winterhawks to the Western Conference championship and into the WHL Finals. They will begin a seven-game series Friday against the winner of the Calgary Hitmen-Edmonton Oil Kings Eastern Conference Finals.

Seth Jones is the consensus choice as the top prospect in this year's NFL draft.

Jones, who spearheaded the United States to the gold medal at the World Junior Championship in January, has 13 points (five goals) in 15 playoff games. His rating is plus-11, tied for second best on the team. Jones averaged nearly a point per game in the regular season, with 56 points (14 goals) in 61 games. He was plus-46.

Jones grew up playing for the Littleton Hawks (A and double-A) and Colorado Thunderbirds (triple-A) before moving back to Texas, where he was born, at age 13 when his father became an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks.

The other top-five draft prospects are forwards, including teammates Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Drouin had 41 goals in 49 regular-season games and led the Mooseheads with 105 points. MacKinnon played just 44 games but amassed 32 goals and 75 points.

Russian left wing Valeri Nichushkin and Finnish center Aleksander Barkov also are among the top-five prospects in what is considered a deep draft.

Avs spokesman Jean Martineau said general manager Greg Sherman did not attend the draft lottery while he works to replace head coach Joe Sacco, who was fired Sunday. Executive Craig Billington represented the Avs in the 2009 draft lottery, and Sherman was there in 2011.

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